Privacy and Injunctions - Evidence - Parliament

Press Complaints Commission—Written evidence
Appendix One
The Editors’ Code of Practice
The Press Complaints Commission is charged with enforcing the following Code of Practice
which was framed by the newspaper and periodical industry and was ratified by the PCC in
January 2011.
The Editors’ Code of Practice
All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards. The
Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below, sets the
benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the
public's right to know. It is the cornerstone of the system of self-regulation to which the
industry has made a binding commitment.
It is essential that an agreed code be honoured not only to the letter but in the full spirit. It
should not be interpreted so narrowly as to compromise its commitment to respect the
rights of the individual, nor so broadly that it constitutes an unnecessary interference with
freedom of expression or prevents publication in the public interest.
It is the responsibility of editors and publishers to apply the Code to editorial material in
both printed and online versions of publications. They should take care to ensure it is
observed rigorously by all editorial staff and external contributors, including non-journalists,
in printed and online versions of publications.
Editors should co-operate swiftly with the PCC in the resolution of complaints. Any
publication judged to have breached the Code must print the adjudication in full and with
due prominence, including headline reference to the PCC.
Clause 1 (Accuracy)
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information,
including pictures.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be
corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology
published. In cases involving the Commission, prominence should be agreed with the PCC in
advance.
iii) The Press, whilst free to be partisan, must distinguish clearly between comment,
conjecture and fact.
iv) A publication must report fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for defamation
to which it has been a party, unless an agreed settlement states otherwise, or an agreed
statement is published.
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